


Mourning

by teej_318



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Death, Loss of co-worker, Mourning, Takes place after 18th and Potomac, takes place during season two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:07:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26169193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teej_318/pseuds/teej_318
Summary: The senior staff react to the news of Mrs. Landingham's death.
Relationships: Jed Bartlet & Dolores Landingham, Jed Bartlet & Leo McGarry, Josh Lyman & Donna Moss
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Mourning

Leo slowly inched his way into the Oval Office. The magnitude of the news he was about to share with the President weighed on him like a stack of rocks. The President appeared to be all-business as always, his focus completely on the phone call he was on, though he knew Leo was walking toward him. Leo stopped short of the President and waited for the President to finish the call. Once he finally put down the phone, the President looked up at Leo, finally engaging him.

"I wish I could say we were making progress in Haiti, but that'd be about as true as me not disclosing my MS to the American public at large," President Bartlet said.

Leo remained silent while the President frowned at him, confused at Leo's lack of a response.

"Jed..." Leo started, still unable to get the words out. 

The President's frown deepened. 

"Leo, is something else going on?"

"There was an accident at 18th and Potomac, sir," Leo said, repeating the words Charlie had told him only moments ago, though it seemed like it was a lifetime ago already. "Mrs. Landingham was driving back to the White House in her new car. A drunk driver ran through the light at the intersection at a high rate of speed."

The President kept a neutral expression on his face, though Leo suspected that may have been the President's way of not expressing his emotions.

"Sir, Mrs. Landingham..."

"No," the President said, taking off his glasses and setting them down on the end table next to the phone. He started to sit down in the nearby chair as Leo put a hand on his shoulder.

"She didn't make it, Mr. President," Leo said. 

The President said nothing, staring off into space as he was consumed by his own thoughts. Leo simply stared at his friend, unable to find the words to provide adequate comfort. After two minutes had passed, Leo spoke up.

"Sir?"

The President blinked and looked up at Leo.

"Leo, I'm going to need to tell Abigail myself in the residence."

"Yes, sir."

"Get the senior staff together and let them know. Have CJ gather the Press and inform them as well."

"She'll inform them as soon as possible, sir."

The President stood up, sighing deeply to himself.

"I'll be in the residence for a little while, Leo. Have Charlie call up if anything comes up."

"Thank you, Mr. President," Leo said, giving President Bartlet another pat on the shoulder before leaving the Oval Office. 

* * *

President Bartlet pushed open the doors into the residence's bedroom. Abigail was sitting on the bed reading a book with a bathrobe on and a towel wrapped around her head. She looked as relaxed as she could be amidst the events occurring in the White House over the past several days. 

"I wasn't expecting to see you before bed, Jed," Abigail said. "It must be a small miracle that you're here."

"Abigail," said the President in a tone that made Abigail look up.

"Jed, what is it?" Abigail asked, frowning.

The President stepped forward and sat down on the bed. He grabbed one of Abigail's hands and held onto it. Abigail put down the book and pushed it away.

"I have some terrible news, Abby," said the President. 

"Did someone leak the MS story?" Abigail asked.

The President shook his head. 

"It's about Dolores. She was driving back to the White House in her new car and a drunk driver ran into her car."

"Jed..."

"She didn't make it, Abby."

Abigail cupped her mouth as tears started forming in her eyes. She leaned forward and pulled the President into a hug as the President fought back tears of his own.

* * *

As soon as the meeting with Leo was done, Sam left Leo's office, his head buried in his notebook as he started drafting a statement from the White House about Mrs. Landingham. Sam didn't watch where he was going, and he was lucky not to bump into anyone on his way back to his office. He didn't look up once from his notebook and managed to sit down at his desk without tripping over his chair. 

Sam remained at his desk trying to craft the perfect statement for the President, ripping several drafts up and tossing them to the side as he came up with other ideas. It was only when he had the perfect draft did someone finally knock on Sam's door.

"Sam?" said Charlie.

"Yeah, come in," Sam said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. 

"I just heard from the President in the residence. He says to send up your statement as soon as it's done."

"Did he say why?"

"I think he just wants to look over it before it's published. He might not have CJ read it to the press."

"Why?" Sam asked, frowning.

"I think he wants to make a statement during the briefing. I think he wants it to be spontaneous."

Sam paused for a moment before nodding. 

"Wouldn't you?" he said.

* * *

Toby slowly returned to the communications office following Leo's announcement. He had his usual relaxed look on his face, which did nothing to alert the communications staff about what he had just been told. He was about to go into his office when Ginger stopped him.

"What's going on, Leo?" she asked.

"Hmmm?" Toby asked, lost in his own thoughts.

"Leo just gathered the senior staff for a meeting and Sam went into his office working on a statement without looking up," Ginger explained. "Something's going on, Leo, and I think we all ought to know."

"Yeah, I guess that's fair," Toby said with a sigh. 

He stepped forward into the center of the communications office, briefly glancing toward Sam's office, where he saw Sam still buried in his notebook, a small pile of crumpled up pieces of paper already accumulating on his desk.

"Everyone," Toby said in a calm voice to the communications staff. "You're all about to hear this anywhere during CJ's press briefing, but you should hear it from me, first. Mrs. Landingham was in a car accident a little bit ago involving a drunk driver. The driver was driving at a high rate of speed and hit Mrs. Landingham's car. Mrs. Landingham was killed in the crash."

The silence that followed Toby's revelation was predictable. Everyone had a look of shock etched on their faces and there was a deafening silence in the room. 

"I'm sorry everyone," Toby said quietly before he turned and walked back to his office. 

"Toby..." Ginger said, her expression looking the same as it was the night The President and Josh had both been shot. 

"It's okay, Ginger," Toby said pulling Ginger in for a hug, just like he had before. "It's all right."

"How's the President?" Ginger asked when she broke the hug.

"He's with the First Lady in the residence," Toby said. "CJ is gonna give a statement in a few minutes. You ready to go to work?"

"Yes."

"Then let's do it," Toby said.

* * *

Predictably, Donna was waiting in Josh's office when he returned from the meeting. 

"What was that about?" Donna asked once Josh was in his office.

Josh ignored her for a moment, staring off into space.

"Josh?"

"Donna, can you get my mother on the phone, please?" Josh asked, not making eye contact with Donna. 

"Yeah, sure," Donna said, picking up the phone and dialing it quickly. She had Josh's mother's phone memorized. "It's ringing. What's going on, Josh?"

"Mrs. Landingham died in a drunk driving crash," Josh replied as he took the phone from Donna and held it up to his ear. 

"What?" Donna asked, her voice shaking. 

"Yeah," Josh said. "You should call your Mom, too, Donna."

Donna wiped some tears away and was about to step out of the room when Josh started speaking to his mother. She couldn't help but listen to what Josh was saying.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Mom. I just needed to hear your voice," Josh explained. There was a pause as his Mom spoke. "Mrs. Landingham was killed in a drunk driving accident just a bit ago...Yeah, I just needed to talk to you Mom. She always reminded me of you."

Josh made eye contact with Donna. He grinned at her while his mother responded to his comment and Donna smiled at Josh, wiping away a fresh set of tears from her eyes.

* * *

"Good evening, everyone," CJ said as she took her spot at the podium. "I'm sorry to call you back so late with no updates on the news of the day. But the President wanted me to speak to you all about this news."

CJ glanced at her notes before she looked back up at the members of the press.

"About 45 minutes ago, the President's personal secretary, Mrs. Dolores Landingham was driving back to the White House with her new car. She was at the intersection of 18th and Potmac when a drunk driver, driving at a high rate of speed, collided into her car. Mrs. Landingham was killed by the impact of the crash. Paramedics dispatched onto the scene informed us Mrs. Landingham did not suffer from the crash and was killed immediately following the crash. The driver of the second vehicle, whose identity is not known at this time, was transported to the hospital with injuries included lacerations and possible broken bones."

When CJ was finished reading from her notes, Carol approached her and whispered into her ear while the press started raising their hands and calling CJ's name for questions. CJ nodded at Carol, who stepped back.

"We'll have time for a few questions in just a moment, but for now, the President would like to make a statement to the press," CJ said. The back door CJ always enters the briefing room opened and the President stood in the doorway. "Ladies and gentleman, President Bartlet."

The press all got to their feet as the President walked into the room and took his place at the podium. He waited for a few moments as the photographers in the room started taking pictures of him. When the flashes died down, the President paused for a moment before he spoke.

"It is impossible to replace Dolores Landingham," he said. "She was a one-of-a-kind woman. She was committed to the ideals of this nation and considered herself so above board that she wouldn't take a deal on the first new car she's bought in decades. Mrs. Landingham never asked anyone for anything, except perhaps more time with her sons, who were killed in Vietnam serving this country and making the ultimate sacrifice.

"I've known Dolores Landingham since my days in college, when my father hired her as a secretary. She was a woman who wasn't afraid to challenge anyone, least of all the President of the United States. She believed in doing what was right, no matter how hard it was or no matter if you couldn't be bothered to do what was right. That's a true woman. She was unafraid. She was kind. She was a hard worker. And she will be dearly missed by everyone in this White House. Thank you, ladies and gentleman." 

**Author's Note:**

> I just watched 18th and Potomac and Two Cathedrals tonight and I got to thinking how the senior staff would have reacted to the news about Mrs. Landingham's death. I came up with this and I hope I was faithful to the characters. I'm no Aaron Sorkin, but I hope I got their voices right. Let me know what you thought.


End file.
